It can be strange to see ice forming on your HVAC system during summer in Georgetown, IN. Although this behavior can indicate trouble, understanding its causes is the first step to preventing or resolving it. With that in mind, here are a few reasons why ice might appear on your air conditioner.
Dirty Evaporator Coils
Your AC’s evaporator coils absorb heat from the air in your home and transfer that heat to the refrigerant. Later, the compressor heats and pressurizes the refrigerant.
As the hot refrigerant passes through the condenser coils, it releases the heat outside. If there’s any dirt on the evaporator coils, however, it will stymie this whole process.
With debris coating the evaporator coils, there’s less surface area available to absorb heat. This will promote a drop in temperatures in the area, which, if any condensation is present, will cause ice to form. The ultimate solution to this is to ask an HVAC maintenance technician to clean your coils.
Low Refrigerant
For similar reasons, ice is likelier to appear on your AC if the system is low on refrigerant. If refrigerant leaks out for any reason, less of it will be available to enable heat absorption, which will encourage low temperatures inside your AC. With less heat flowing through your system, stray condensation will be more likely to harden into ice.
Restricted Airflow
Without smooth airflow, your AC can fall victim to a great variety of problems, and sudden ice formation is only one of these. With dirty air filters cutting off the flow of air, heat will once again be unable to move through your system in the required quantities, which can contribute to ice appearing on or around your evaporator coils. Remember to clean or replace your filters at least once every 90 days.
It may be troublesome to see ice on your AC, but this is nothing that a trained team of experts can’t deal with. Call Lamb’s Heating & Air Conditioning, and ask for our AC repair services in Georgetown, IN today.
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